Overview

Use Enhanced PDF Formats (EPF) to design your own invoices and other PDFs in Microsoft Word, then generate them from Accounting Seed with a click. You create the format, upload your Word template, and connect it to your data yourself, with no Visualforce code and no developer needed. Enhanced PDF Formats is an additional option alongside Visualforce PDF Formats, which remain fully supported.

In this article:

• Before You Begin
• How Enhanced PDF Formats Work
  • Next steps to configure and set up PDFs
• Generate Enhanced PDFs
  • Generate a PDF for a single record
  • Generate Billing PDFs in a batch
• Related Articles

Before You Begin

• Your org is set up for Enhanced PDF Formats. Your org must be on Winter '27 Preview or later, and your Salesforce Administrator must complete the one-time setup in Enhanced PDF Formats Configuration. If you don't see the Merge Type field, the Templates tab, or the Generate PDF button, ask your administrator to complete that setup.
• You have the right permission set. To create formats and templates, you need the AS Full Admin or Accounting Manager permission set. To generate, save, and email PDFs, the Accounting Seed permission sets you already use for Billings are enough.
• Your template is a Word (.docx) file. PDF, .doc, and Google Doc links are not supported. If you design in Google Docs, navigate to File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx).

How Enhanced PDF Formats Work

With Enhanced PDF Formats, you can create or customize PDFs for Billings, Master Billings, and any other Salesforce object, with no coding. Enhanced PDF Formats use the existing PDF Format object. A new Merge Type field on each PDF Format record controls how the PDF is built:

• Visualforce: the existing process, unchanged. The PDF is built from a Visualforce page, and changing its layout usually requires a developer.
• Document: new in Winter '27. The PDF is built from a Word template that you design and update yourself. Selecting this value makes the record an Enhanced PDF Format and displays the Templates tab.

Both types can be used in the same org.

Here's how setup compares for a Billing and for any other object:

	Billing or Master Billing	Any other object (such as Cash Receipt)
1. Create the format	Convert a standard format with Create Document Format. Every tag comes already mapped.	Your Salesforce Administrator adds a Generate PDF action to the object, then creates a new PDF Format with Merge Type set to Document and the object as the Target Object.
2. Design the template	Download the Word template, add your logo, colors, and wording, then upload it again and reuse the existing mappings.	Build a Word template with tags, upload it, and map each tag to a field.
3. Get ready to generate	Select the Enhanced PDF Format in the record's Billing Format field.	No record setup needed.
4. Generate	Click Generate PDF on the record, or Generate Billing PDFs from a Billings list view.	Click Generate PDF on the record.

Key capabilities:

• Start from a ready-made Billing format: convert a standard Billing or Master Billing PDF Format into an Enhanced PDF Format in a few clicks, with every field already mapped. To update branding, logos, or wording, edit the template in Word and check the tag mappings.
• Works with any object: create an Enhanced PDF Format for any Salesforce object, including Billings and Master Billings. Build a template with tags, map them, and generate the PDF from a quick action. For example, you can generate a payment receipt from a Cash Receipt or a custom object.
• Simpler edits: to change the layout later, edit the Word file and upload it again.
• Design it in Word: lay out your document in Word or Google Docs with your own logo, fonts, colors, and wording.
• Tags you name yourself: there is no fixed tag list. When you upload the template, the system finds every tag in the file and lists it for you to map to a field, a related-record field, or a list of child records such as Billing Lines.
• Fallback fields: map a tag to more than one field. If the first field is blank, the next field is used.
• Reusable mappings: when you upload a revised template, click Copy mappings from to reuse your existing tag mappings.
• Save or email the PDF: for any object, save the PDF to the record or email it to a contact. For Billings, you can also generate and email up to 200 PDFs at once from a list view.

Sample Customized Billing PDF

Sample Cash Receipt PDF

Next steps to configure and set up PDFs

Create a PDF format once, and everyone in your org can use it to generate PDFs. Of the standard Accounting Seed PDFs, Billing and Master Billing are available to convert and customize. For any other object, create a new format and your own template. This is usually a one-time task, and you can update the format as needed. If Enhanced PDF Formats are already set up in your org, go to Generate Enhanced PDFs.

• To set up a Billing or Master Billing PDF, see Set Up Enhanced PDFs for Billings and Master Billings in Enhanced PDF Formats Configuration.
• To set up a PDF for any other Salesforce object, see Set Up Enhanced PDFs for Any Object in Enhanced PDF Formats Configuration.
• To design your template and add merge tags, see Enhanced PDF Formats Template Guide.

Generate Enhanced PDFs

Once the PDF format is set up, you can generate PDFs from a single record or from a list of Billings. For Master Billings and all other objects, you can only generate PDFs from a single record.

Generate a PDF for a single record

Available for every object that has an Enhanced PDF Format set up.

Prerequisites:

• All setup steps in Enhanced PDF Formats Configuration are complete.
• For objects other than Billing and Master Billing, the additional setup steps, including adding the Generate PDF action, are also complete. See Set Up Enhanced PDFs for Any Object.
• For a Master Billing, every Billing on it must also use an Enhanced PDF Format with a template attached. Otherwise, an error lists the Billings to update.

Steps to generate your Enhanced PDF:

1. Open the record you want to generate the PDF for, such as a Billing or Cash Receipt.
2. For a Billing or Master Billing, select an Enhanced PDF Format in the record's Billing Format field. Other objects don't need this step.
3. Click the action that generates the PDF:
   1. Billing and Master Billing: click Generate PDF.
   2. Other objects: the Generate PDF action is available only after a Salesforce Administrator adds it to the object. See Set Up Enhanced PDFs for Any Object. If more than one Enhanced PDF Format exists for the object, select the format to use.
4. Wait for the PDF to generate. This usually takes less than a minute, and the PDF displays in a preview when complete.
5. Choose one of the following:
   • Save: attaches the PDF to the record's Notes & Attachments related list.
   • Send Email: in the email section, confirm the From address, select or change the recipient contact, review the subject and body, attach any additional files, and click Send Email. The PDF is also saved to the record.

Note: The recipient contact must have a valid email address. If no contact with an email address is selected, the Send Email button is unavailable. If no contact displays automatically, select one.

Generate Billing PDFs in a batch

Available for Billings only. Generate, save, and email PDFs for up to 200 Billings at once from a list view. Generate Master Billing PDFs and PDFs for other objects one record at a time, as described in Generate a PDF for a single record.

Prerequisite: All setup steps in Enhanced PDF Formats Configuration are complete.

1. Navigate to a Billings list view.
2. Select up to 200 Billings.
3. Click Generate Billing PDFs.
4. Review the list of selected Billings. A warning appears next to any Billing whose PDF Format is not an Enhanced PDF Format, or that has no email recipient.
5. (Optional) To generate PDFs for Billings with a PDF Format warning, select an Enhanced PDF Format in the fallback PDF Format field. It is used in place of those Billings' assigned formats.
6. (Optional) To email a Billing, click Set Recipient on its row and select a contact. You can also use Set Recipient to change an existing recipient.
7. Click one of the following:
   • Save PDFs: generates and saves a PDF to each selected Billing.
   • Email PDFs: generates and saves a PDF to each selected Billing, then emails the Billings that have a recipient. Billings without a recipient are saved but not emailed.

Important: Stay on this page until the Result column shows every record is complete. If you navigate away, remaining PDFs are not generated or emailed.

For more ways to email Billing PDFs, including the Automated Email Billing job, see Mass Email Billings.

Related Articles

• Enhanced PDF Formats Configuration
• Enhanced PDF Formats Template Guide
• Mass Email Billings
• Configure Standard PDF Formats
• Create a Custom PDF Format
• Automated Jobs

If you need help, contact Accounting Seed Support.

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